Unforgettable
by cherry valence
Summary: Twenty some odd years later after the end of Smallville, Chloe realizes that she has to leave and Clark's her final goodbye.


_I have to credit this song prompt to Ieresial, and say (as always) that I don't own anything. Not Smallville, not this song. Thanks for reading._

* * *

><p><strong>Unforgettable<strong>

_**Cause I always saw in you my light, my strength**_

_**And I want to thank you for all the ways you were right there for me.**_

**Faith Hill; There You'll Be **

It was incredible how much he missed her in the beginning.

There had been a time when Chloe had been the only one he could rely on, she'd been the one that he could turn to with anything-and he came to her with everything.

When she told him that she was leaving, and that it was for the best…but that they'd never see each other again, Clark cried. He never saw the day coming, but here he was twenty some odd years later, losing the best friend he ever had.

In the moment that she kissed him goodbye he grabbed for her hand, eager for any sort of concrete way to prove to himself that she was still there. He wanted to apologize for every wrong thing he'd ever done to her throughout their lives; he wanted to apologize for standing her up at Homecoming, for not telling her his secret sooner, for being blinded by Lana.

Clark wanted to beg her to never leave him, because how could he be Superman without the woman who helped to push him towards greatness? He didn't know how to be Clark without Chloe, so how could he be Superman without Watchtower? Everything that he had become, he owed in a great matter to Chloe. She'd never allowed him the easy path, never allowed him to give up on him. When he couldn't believe in himself she'd taken it upon herself to believe in him enough for them both.

"I don't want you to go."

A laugh bubbled around the cry that had been caught in Chloe's throat.

"Clark," Chloe wiped away the tears that had started to fall down her cheeks. "God…it's like nothing has ever changed. You were just as petulant when we were fourteen."

"I'm being serious. I'll do whatever it takes so that you don't have to run away, or hide. I'll make sure you're safe-everything will be as normal as you want it."

Chloe had to struggle to stop the tears from falling as Clark promised the stars and the moon to stop her from disappearing. She'd told everybody except for him goodbye, as she was preparing herself for the painful goodbyes she'd convinced herself that leaving Oliver would be the hardest and as difficult as the blow was to him…strangely enough, he understood what she was doing.

"That isn't normal, Clark." Chloe rested her hand on his cheek, her eyes crinkling as his bottom lip trembled. He still just looked like a little boy when he did that. "I need to go."

"I'm sorry." Clark took a step back from her, running his hand over his face. "My God, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I did this to you, that I brought you into this…into knowing my secret."

"Clark!" Chloe grabbed his hand and pulled him back. "No! You gave me the most incredible gift I ever could have asked for. You gave my life meaning, you gave me a purpose."

Chloe smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "You gave me something bigger than me."

"Anything could happen Chloe…" Clark's voice trailed off with all the ugly, terrifying possibilities. "Anything. If I don't know where you are, how can I protect you?"

"There's a whole world out there that needs your protection Clark." Chloe told him with a confident nod. "Don't think about me needing you; think of me…think of me being happy."

A tear slid down Clark's cheek, and Chloe thought…here she was…the woman who made Superman cry.

"I'm going to miss you." Clark rubbed his hand across his eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time before reaching down to hug her again. "More than you can imagine."

"I will always love you, and believe in you Clark." Chloe placed one hand on each side of his face. "You didn't need tights and a cape to be Superman to me."

"You've always hated the spandex." Clark mumbled, pulling her in for a hug.

"I know." Chloe nodded her head, "I hate it so much. But you made it work."

Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck, and felt the tears pressing at the corners of her eyes.

"I think this is last call." Chloe told him, trying to move away.

"Wait." Clark picked her up in his arms, cradling her carefully. "If this is really goodbye, I can't let you go without one last flight over Metropolis."

Chloe inhaled the fresh night air as Clark flew her across the city that once upon a time, she believed held everything she ever wanted. She hadn't been entirely right, however.

Metropolis had only been the beginning.

"Thank you." Clark told her as he set her down on the balcony of her apartment.

Clark kissed the top of her head.

"The world might not remember Watchtower or Chloe Sullivan a few hundred years from now…" the words got caught in Clark's throat for a moment as the reality of goodbye set in, "But Superman won't ever forget her."

_Just as it should be_, Chloe thought as she watched her Superman fly away. Not hers, she corrected, just Superman.

But it got better after a while, it did. He never forgot her, and Watchtower carried on under more than a few aliases.

When he finally learned that Chloe Sullivan was gone, it had been nearly as much as he'd surmised. Most of the world had forgotten about her, but not the bumbling reporter in bottle cap glasses with a bouquet of tiger lilies.

No, that man never even stopped missing her long enough to forget about her.


End file.
